Giving Compass' Take:

• Pedro Conceição writes for Brookings on understanding the more advanced, lesser-known impacts on inequality in the 21st century.

• How can recognizing new inequalities help us change our strategy in finding solutions?

• Learn more about modern inequalities.

The United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP) 2019 Human Development Report, opens a new window to understand and address inequalities in human development.

It is common knowledge that some basic inequalities are slowly narrowing in many countries, even if much remains to be done. In life expectancy at birth, in access to primary education, and in access to mobile phones, countries with lower human development are catching up with more developed countries.

In contrast, and much less well known, inequalities in more advanced areas are widening. Countries with higher human development have longer life expectancy at older ages, higher tertiary education enrollment and more access to broadband—and they are increasing their lead.

These new inequalities may be one reason behind an apparent increase in concern about inequality: These are the inequalities that will shape people’s ability to seize the opportunities of the 21st century and function in a knowledge economy, and to meet challenges, including the ability to cope with climate change.

The greater the inequality in human development, the lower the intergenerational mobility in income—and vice versa. These two factors go hand in hand, but that does not imply that one causes the other. In fact, it is more likely that both are driven by underlying economic and social factors, so understanding and tackling these drivers could both promote mobility and redress inequality.

Tackling inequalities requires addressing the drivers, not just the symptoms.

The human development lens—placing people at the heart—is central to approaching inequalities and asking why they matter, how they manifest themselves and how best to tackle them.

Read the full article about modern inequalities rooted in human development by Pedro Conceição at Brookings.